Should’ve Known It’s You (Not You Again #7)

Chapter 69

CHAPTER 69

AUSTIN

W e had a private dinner on the deck of our villa. A chef came to prepare it for us while a server kept our glasses filled with expensive white wine. This was the very first time in my life I was having an experience like this, and I was as awed by it all as Kennedy—even if I wasn’t as outspoken about it.

I’d never splurged like this at all, and if I was being honest, I never thought I would. The Maldives hadn’t even been on my radar until I’d seen Logan while Slate had been in town to bring our things back from Merrick Meadows.

As I’d listened to him talk about it, I’d hardly been able to believe what he’d described and I’d decided to look it up that night. By the time I’d arrived home, Kennedy had already been asleep in my bed, totally wiped out after Nicholas’s birth.

I’d climbed in beside her, careful not to disrupt her slumber, and then I’d Googled this country. It’d only taken me about five minutes of looking at pictures of the place before I’d been on a booking site, comparing the pros and cons of a couple of different romantic resorts.

In the end, this had been the winner by a mile and I’d reserved a villa on the spot. A few of the other hotels had been close contenders, but as I sipped my wine, the sun a great, glowing ball of fire dipping into the horizon, I was beyond pleased with my choice.

“We really should’ve put on sunscreen before we spent the whole afternoon in the pool,” Kenny lamented lightly, rubbing a palm over her sun-kissed skin as she brought her glass to her lips. “You look like you’ve already been here for a week after that.”

I chuckled, but she wasn’t wrong. After growing up working on the farm with my shirt hanging from my waistband, my skin tended to tan quickly and evenly. I glanced at my arms, seeing that I was already a few shades darker than I had been when we’d arrived just this morning.

“I’ll lather you up tomorrow,” I promised, winking as I watched the chef plate up our food. “If you want, I can also put some cream on you tonight.”

She laughed softly, her glowing, pink cheeks taking on an even deeper rosy hue. Giving my shoulder a playful smack, she shot a pointed glance at the chef and the server. “We’ve got company.”

I leaned closer to her ear. “They work for a hotel that specializes in honeymoon packages. I’m sure they’ve seen and heard worse.”

They left us soon after anyway. With our glasses topped off and the remaining wine chilling in an ice bucket next to the table, the server bowed out. The chef set our plates down in front of us, and after reminding us that dessert was in the fridge, he took his leave as well.

“This food is almost too beautiful to eat,” Kenny breathed as she glanced down at the meal the chef had prepared for us.

Each plate held a spectacularly grilled filet of tuna along with a gorgeous salad, all of which was drizzled with some kind of colorful liquid. On a platter between us was every kind of locally available shellfish, also cooked to perfection and served with fragrant rice and fresh lemon slices.

“It does look amazing. I might just take a quick picture to send to Slate before we eat.”

She chuckled. “I’ll send one to Winrey as well.”

After both texting our families with a few pictures, we tucked in, and the food tasted as great as it looked. Fresh and perfectly seasoned, it was one of the best meals I’d ever had—with the exception of anything cooked by my mother, of course.

Once we’d cleared every last morsel from our plates and our platter, I finished the last of my wine and dragged in a deep breath. “I think I need a walk after that.”

Kenny groaned. “I’m not quite sure how I’m going to get up, but that sounds like a great idea.”

Once I stood up, I helped her to her feet and kept hold of her hand as we left our villa. We followed the lit pathway across the water to a white, sandy beach. As soon as we reached the sand, I kicked off my shoes and Kenny followed. Then we left them at the walkway to collect on our way back to the villa.

“I want to walk with my feet in the water,” she said as we crossed the unbelievably soft sand. “This feels like walking on a cloud, but we’ve been here almost nine hours and I’ve yet to put my feet in the ocean.”

“We should remedy that immediately,” I said, chuckling as I dragged her with me.

Still holding hands, we veered left until the warm water was lapping at our feet. We strolled along the beach, both silent as we absorbed the views.

I’d never seen a more beautiful place in my life. It was nothing but hundreds of miles of ocean stretching as far as the eye could see. The water was calm and still, reflecting the light of the moon and stars above.

There wasn’t another soul in sight. The restaurants and bars offered by the resort were in the main building far behind us. Kennedy released my hand and I looked at her, watching as she went deeper into the water. Her back was to me, but I still heard her hushed whisper as she stared out at the infinite ocean.

“This place is nothing short of paradise. Thank you for bringing me here, Austin. I can’t actually believe a place like this really exists.”

As she said it, it occurred to me that this was the moment I’d been waiting for. It wouldn’t get any more perfect than this, so I went out into the shallow water with her and lowered myself down on one knee.

Time seemed to slow down as I took that knee. My heartrate increasing, I looked up at her profile. This is it.

I’d been planning this since Christmas, but in reality, it had been on my mind for a lot longer than that. As soon as I’d looked at the pictures of the Maldives, I’d known that the right moment would happen in this tropical paradise. I’d just had to wait for it and not let myself pass it by.

I hadn’t thought it would come quite so soon after our arrival, but this was definitely it. Kennedy turned back to me with a smile on her lips, but as I watched, her brow furrowed when I wasn’t where she’d left me.

It took her a split second to realize where I was and she gasped when she saw me kneeling in front of her. I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out the ring box I’d had stashed in there all throughout the flight.

I’d left it in the room while we’d been swimming, but outside of that, it’d been on my person pretty much since I’d bought it right after Christmas. As her eyes looked into mine, I searched my brain for the heartfelt words I’d spent days agonizing over.

While I stared at her, I found the groove in the box with my thumb and popped it open, presenting her with the diamond ring nestled on a little pillow inside. I cleared my throat, hoping that this moment was as loving and raw a testament to our love as I wanted it to be.

“Our night together at Jess and Slate’s wedding put my life on a new course,” I said, giving up on remembering the words I’d practiced and simply going with what felt right. “It’s a course I will forever be grateful to the universe for putting me on, because it led me to the person who has come to mean everything to me.”

I took a quick breath, but my gaze remained locked on hers. “You and I have already grown so much together. We’ve already been through so much together and we’ve fought for each other every step of the way. I want to keep doing that with you, Kennedy Sweet. I want to do life with you, to face every hurdle and victory, every joy and every sorrow, with you.”

I stopped for a second to compose myself before carrying on.

“I cannot imagine my life without you, your passion, your love, your kindness, and your dreams,” I said, my voice getting choked with emotion as I gazed into her teary eyes. Moisture brimmed on her lids and I found myself praying that they were happy tears, but I had to get through this before I could find out. “You have given me dreams of my own, hopes for a future unlike any I would’ve been able to fathom before you, and I want to make all our dreams a reality together.”

Finally holding up the ring, I reached for her left hand and gently squeezed it. “Will you marry me?”

For the longest second of my entire life, she just stared down at me, blinking hard before she finally started nodding, the tears falling from her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. “Yes. Yes! I will. Of course, I will.”

A grin split my face in half. With my hands shaking, I managed to get the ring out of the box and onto her finger without dropping it in the ocean. Once I pushed it into place, I brought her hand to mine to kiss the ring on her finger. Then I stood up, took her into my arms, and kissed her soundly.

As she wound her hands around my neck, her lips parted and she playfully stumbled deeper into the ocean. I went with her, laughing against her lips as we fell into the water, kissing and giggling like teenagers.

I didn’t even care that we were both dripping wet now or that anyone with a view of this part of the resort would be able to see us. Kennedy Sweet and I were engaged, and I couldn’t wait to shout it from the rooftops that she had agreed to be my wife.